Shawn Mendes responds to unfair speculation around his sexuality in new song
"There was a desperation for me to come out as being gay," the star previously said of the matter in 2020
Shawn Mendes has responded to speculation around his sexuality in unreleased song ‘The Mountain’.
The 26-year-old debuted a live version of the track back in Woodstock in August, and it has since become a staple on his setlist.
The song is taken from his upcoming fifth studio album Shawn, out next month.
“You can say I like girls or boys, whatеver fits your mould” – Shawn Mendes in live lyrics to ‘The Mountain’
In a recent TikTok fan upload of a performance of the track, the Canadian star sings: “You can say I’m too young. You can say I’m too old. You can say I like girls or boys, whatеver fits your mould.”
In 2020, the star again addressed rumours around his sexuality in an interview with The Guardian.
“There was a desperation for me to come out as being gay, which is such a ridiculous thing,” he said.
The star, known for hits like ‘Señorita’ and ‘Why Why Why’, continued: “I got upset because I know people who are gay who haven’t come out and I know the suffering they experience because of that.
“It’s just completely ignorant and insensitive of people to be on that shit.”
“You don’t really know how to respond to the situation”
In 2022, on Dax Shephard’s Armchair Expert podcast, the ‘Stitches’ singer again talked about the rumours. “It was so, so frustrating for me because there were some people in my life that I was very very close to, who were gay and in the closet,” he said.
“And I felt like this real anger for those people. It’s such a tricky thing. You want to say, ‘I’m not gay but it’d be fine if I was gay – but also there’s nothing wrong with being gay but I’m not.’ You don’t really know how to respond to the situation.”